The invention relates to physical exercising apparatus and, more particularly, to exercising apparatus which affords a variety of weight-training exercises.
Many configurations of weight-training equipment are known in the exercise equipment art. In many of these, at least one pivoted handlebar lever having a handgrip at its free end is rotated by a user from a rest position against a resistive force afforded by a vertically guided weight assembly, a pneumatic cylinder, or other means that resists movement of the handlebar lever. Typically an actuating mechanism, such as a pulley and cable arrangement, camming mechanisms, chain couplings or the like interconnect the handlebar lever and the resistance means to, for example, lift the weight assembly or actuate a piston within the pneumatic cylinder.
Most weight-training equipment of the aforementioned type is large and bulky, and is not well suited for domestic use, where space often is at a premium. Size and bulk are an acute problem with so-called "multi-station" equipment, which provides a plurality of stations surrounding one frame, each station usually designed for performing only a single type of exercise. More compact units tend to lack versatility, typically being of the "single station" type devoted to only one type of exercise.
It has proven desirable, especially for domestic use, to configure weight-training equipment in such a way as to increase its versatility for performing many different types of exercises. This typically is done by reconfiguring various portions of the equipment so that exercise forces may be applied in many different directions to many parts of the user's body. However, conversion of such equipment from one mode of operation to another typically is a rather complicated, cumbersome and time-consuming operation. And these multi-functional machines still tend to be rather sizable.